Sporting KC agrees to trade Ike Opara to Minnesota for allocation money
Ike Opara’s six-year stay in Kansas City, marked by its adversity and his consistent resurgence, is over.
Sporting Kansas City has agreed to trade Opara, a centerpiece of one of the league’s top defenses, to Minnesota United in exchange for $900,000 in allocation money. The return can balloon to $1 million with incentives, league sources said.
The league has not yet approved the deal.
The ensuing exit follows Opara’s request for a pay increase two months ago. In a meeting with Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes, Opara voiced his desire to be compensated more handsomely than the $342,000 he earned in 2018. He still has two years remaining on a contract he signed just one year earlier. In the alternative, Opara requested the club consider trading him.
Shortly thereafter, that request was made public by Opara’s representatives, a move that vexed the Sporting KC front office and eventually prompted his departure. With an initially quiet trade market, the club informed teams it intended to retain Opara as it approaches a jammed MLS and CONCACAF Champions League schedule that begins in just three weeks. But Minnesota returned with a considerably larger offer, and after some negotiations, Sporting KC landed a rich return for the former MLS defender of the year.
Opara, 29, had grown into one of the team’s most popular players and a model of the comeback. Injuries derailed the first half-decade of his playing career, which began with San Jose in 2010, and prompted him to consider retirement. Instead, he transformed into an ideal revival story. He had his career-best season in 2017, playing in 30 matches and earning the MLS defender of the year honor. He was later included in the United States men’s national team pool. His speed and athleticism made him a desirable fit in Sporting’s model of play.
Opara started 31 matches last season, meaning his departure will leave an obvious hole in the center of Sporting’s defense alongside captain Matt Besler. The team acquired Andreu Fontas last summer, the leading candidate to take over the starting job. Fontas is on a $1 million contract, indicating how the team values his worth. In the offseason, Sporting KC also added Hungarian defender Botond Barath. Fontas and Barath figure to fill the vacancy in the immediacy rather than the club exploring outside options.
The targeted allocation money (TAM) acquired Monday can be used to sign new players or to retain existing players who earn more than the maximum budget charge (designated players), which is slightly north of $500,000. It can also be used to convert designated players into normal roster spots, preserving cap space. In a trade in July 2017, Sporting KC acquired $1.6 million in allocation money for striker Dom Dwyer, which it partially used to sign players including Johnny Russell, Felipe Gutierrez and Yohan Croizet.
This story was originally published January 28, 2019 at 7:33 PM with the headline "Sporting KC agrees to trade Ike Opara to Minnesota for allocation money."